Turn on the Lights
by IronicVeghead
Summary: It had been a whole month of living without Wally and Artemis was sure that she was losing her mind. Maybe she was a masochist. It just hurt so much to remember him. Wasn't that why she had switched to Tigress? These thoughts were going to break her. But maybe...maybe they could also bring him back. Spitfire fix-it fic.
1. Lights Off

**This story is my take on what might have happened to Wally based on what I know about the way Earth 16 science works (because obviously its a bit skewered to allow superhero traits) and what I know about science and physics in our Earth. **

**Please enjoy my fix-it fic. Cheers to mending our wounded hearts.**

* * *

It started with the lights.

She figured that it was because of the group of gamers that lived below them, they were always having parties that took up all the energy. She didn't really care, she had other problems.

Artemis didn't know how long she could live in their apartment before she cracked. Everything was Wally. There was too much food in the fridge for her to eat, his shampoo was still sitting on the shower shelf. His nail clippers were still discarded on the coffee table. Everything smelled like him.

It was too much.

She was lying on the couch when the lights had started flickering. Nelson, who was curled in the curve of her knees, started whimpering and looking to the flashing bulbs. Artemis sighed and put a hand placatingly on his head, burrowing her cheek farther into the cushion. She vaguely remembered that she was supposed to be catching up with her schoolwork, but the textbooks on the coffee table were mocking her.

They had notes all over them; it was one of Wally's favorite things to do. He would write corny love notes when she wasn't looking and carefully pressed them into various pages of her textbooks, letting her find them as she worked.

The lights flickered some more and Artemis pressed her face entirely into the couch. It didn't matter what she did, what she saw. Wally was engraved into her mind, he always was. She could still imagine what he might have said at this moment.

_"The creepy mood lighting is set, my dear,"_ He would joke, _"Shall we have a séance?" _

Her phone buzzed on the floor next to her and her heart jumped, she wondered if she'd been called in for a mission. Or if her friends were attempting damage control once more.

Artemis ran a hand through her hair as she turned, frowning at the static buildup that it seemed to have collected. She suspected it was from helping to train Virgil. Nelson grunted as she moved to retrieve her phone from the floor, her eyes latching immediately to the dent on the left side that had been created when Wally had decided he wanted to try learning karate in the living room.

There was only one way to escape her mind.

She texted Dick.

* * *

There was still a bruise on her neck from the last time she'd done this. Her injuries were the reason no one would let her go on patrol.

Right hook. Parry. Bow to jaw. Knockout.

Dick understood though. He understood that her rage festering at the world needed an outlet. Artemis felt it most at night, when she was alone in her and Wally's bed. Trying to sleep. So he gave her free range of Bludhaven when she needed to vent. Other heroes attempting to keep her chained down wouldn't look for her here.

Another thug attempted to hit her and she shifted her balance back, swinging her foot around to catch him in the shoulder and throw him into the alley wall.

Her chest felt like it was on fire, her eyes dry and trying to water even though she was sure she'd run out of tears. It just wasn't fucking _fair_. The world had taken him away from her without a warning, without enough time.

Artemis's eyes clouded and she missed a second man coming to her side, a knife in his fist. She knock her current target back with the edge of her bow, turning in time to catch the flash of his knife in the corner of her eye.

She hesitated. Her mind whirling. It would be so simple, an accident. Bart would take Nelson, she knew that. The boy loved that dog more than he loved stealing food of out Wally's fridge.

Wally's fridge.

Artemis closed her eyes, waiting for the hit.

Suddenly the man screamed, a flash of light hit Artemis's closed eyelids and she opened her eyes out of instinct. The thug had fallen back, his eyes wide as he held his hand, the skin red and raw. An electrical burn. The knife had fallen safely to the ground, landing in a puddle that splashed over her boots. The man was still in shock so Artemis merely swung her leg out and clipped him across the jaw, sending him unconscious.

She stood there for a moment, her eyes trained on the knife as she contemplated what she'd just done. Suddenly the puddle flashed yellow, a charge of electricity spreading from the knife that the thug had been holding.

A yellow flash.

Artemis let out a strained laugh, stumbling back until she hit the grimy wall of the alleyway, her laugh quickly morphing into a sob.

"Now I'm seeing things," She choked out, holding her free hand to her face. It took only moments for her mask to get wet from tears and she slumped her shoulders, embarrassed, "What was I thinking?" Artemis mumbled, her mind turning back to the way she had _wanted_ the man to stab her. She huffed audibly, thinking once again of Wally, "He would have been so pissed," She spoke to herself, closing her eyes and imagining his reaction. Angry, happy, sad. He was angry this time she thought of him. Artemis loved the way his face nearly matched his hair when he was angry.

She pulled her knees closer, finally allowing herself to freely think of him. Maybe she was a masochist. It just hurt _so_ _much_ to remember him. Wasn't that why she had switched to Tigress? These thoughts were going to break her. To remember that he wasn't going to be waiting at their apartment for her, ready to lecture her about what _retired_ means.

Artemis wished she would have listened to him. She wasn't as keen on retiring as he was, but that was because dying didn't frighten her. He was terrified of losing her. And she never seriously thought that he would be the one leaving. He was just so _alive._ There was no way he would die on the job. The thought never crossed her mind more than once.

There was an audible thud a few feet away and Artemis sighed.

"Tigress," Nightwing spoke softly, walking over and kneeling next to her.

Artemis didn't answer him, choosing to stay silent, although she turned her head to acknowledge his presence.

"I saw what you did," He told her, his voice stronger, angrier. Artemis briefly met his eyes, only half ashamed.

"Then how come you didn't stop me?" She whispered, shifting her position to hold her bow a little closer, as if protecting herself from the oncoming lecture.

"Something beat me to it," Nightwing dismissed the question, pausing shortly before continuing on in a grave tone, "But if you're actually coming out here to give yourself an excuse to die, you are going to lose my permission to patrol. I'm not going to help you kill yourself," He told her gruffly.

"It wasn't planned," Artemis spat back, frowning, "It just...seemed like a good idea at the time," She admitted, her eyes beginning to water once more, "I just," She started, taking a deep breath, "I just miss him _so much_,"

Dick sat down next to the blonde as she began sobbing, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest as he sighed, knowing there wasn't much else he could do.

"Everything reminds me of him," Artemis choked out, "And thinking of him hurts _so much_ because I can't see him again," Her hands were fisted in the fabric of his suit, the symbol on his chest growing damp as she continued to cry.

"I miss him too Artemis," Dick said quietly, rubbing her back as her sobs wound down, "But I can't let you hurt yourself. Not only because you shouldn't, but because it's what Wally would want. He would want you to be happy,"

"Well," Artemis answered, her voice shaking slightly as she pulled back from her friend's embrace, her muscles tensing, "Maybe I can't be happy without him,"

Her face was still damp as she left, standing up abruptly and stomping off with a sniffling nose, her bow clutched between her hands.

"Artemis!" Dick called out as she reached the mouth of the alleyway. The blonde paused, turning her head to the side to indicate that she was listening, "Promise me you won't hurt yourself,"

Artemis paused before answering, her tone sincere, "I promise,"

Once she had disappeared, Nightwing's focus shifted, his analytical mind calculating.

He took the knife when he left.

* * *

Artemis didn't have any more urges to be stupidly reckless after that.

Reckless? Yes. But not _stupidly_ reckless.

However Dick still insisted on patrolling together after that. She didn't entirely blame him either, she knew she was broken.

She certainly _felt_ broken.

Nelson continued whining about the apartment weeks after Wally's demise; sometimes he was excited, sometimes he seemed depressed. Artemis couldn't really figure out what was going on with him, she wished she could ask Wally if this had been what he was like during her absence.

Artemis herself had been slowly falling into a routine, which seemed to please everyone who was worried about her. She would get up and check the newspaper for job placements, decide what school work needed done that day, walk Nelson, and at the end of the day she would patrol with Dick.

Apparently this was considered progress, she just felt numb.

All Artemis knew was that she needed to live each day before the next. Thinking about the past or the future was what would wreck her. Her past included Wally. Her future plans had included Wally.

Sometimes it hurt to be around Nelson. The dog was, after all, her and Wally's surrogate child. And it hurt to realize that Nelson was going to be the only child she ever had with him. Artemis never entirely wanted kids. She still didn't want kids.

But she wanted to someday have _Wally's_ kids. Those kids, him and hers. She had wanted those.

Abruptly the lights began flickering again, something that had continued to be a problem, and only seemed to be getting worse over time, not to mention the static charges that seemed to be present on every surface of the place. Artemis had even called an electrician when the power completely went out the last weekend. The gruff man had taken one look at her fusebox and accused her of having some sort of synthetic lighting lab in her apartment based on the huge amount of electricity that she was using in energy spikes so large it fried her surge protectors.

Artemis had paid him to replace the necessary parts and forced him away. She knew that this wasn't her fault; her electricity bill had barely shown any difference than usual.

And yet the electricity wasn't the only continued problem.

Things were _moving_.

It had started much like the lights, inconsequential things that she put down to a draft, happenstance. Papers tossed to the floor and books opening, lightweight objects that she could blame movement on a breeze from the window.

But Artemis was soon finding silverware moved from one side of the table to the other, the TV remote in a different room, and the blankets on the bed mused. She was beginning to get suspicious that there was something else occurring. Not only was it nearly impossible to blame the wind for moving things so heavy, the very actions themselves were hauntingly familiar.

"Nelson, Baby," Artemis called out to her pup as she stood in the middle of the living room, watching her surroundings carefully. The dog trotted over happily and sat at her feet, expectantly waiting for a pet. But that's not what she needed him for.

Artemis needed proof for herself, and like (her throat constricted as she thought about it), like Wally would have decided; Nelson was a variable of noise that would mess up the experiment. So she kept him at her feet, watching and listening for anything.

She felt like maybe she had lost her mind. That maybe she had succumbed to her sorrow.

But she also knew that Wally had a habit of setting the kitchen table, and that he brought the TV remote with him to the bedroom to hear the sports games while he showered, and that he never made the bed.

And Artemis also knew that ghosts were real. After all, she'd met one before.

So maybe she had lost it, maybe she was letting herself hope for nothing.

However...

"My name is Artemis Crock," The blonde stated loudly, "And I am done putting up with this paranormal shit. So, Wallace West if you are there you fucking get out of the walls _right now_,"

Nelson whined a little at her tone, recognizing the demanding voice easily, but Artemis leaned down slowly to scratch him behind his ears as she continued watching the apartment, letting him know she wasn't talking to him. The dog rested his head on her feet, successfully consoled, and Artemis stood back up her heart falling as she realized that still nothing had occurred.

Then the light flickered, only a bit and then wildly. The whole apartment lighting up like a club as various electronics sparked into life for moments at a time. The TV turned on, the channels flipping, the alarm clock radio started up, playing country (which Wally knew that she hated), and the lights danced around her. And through all of the lights and various noises, she heard a familiar sound that didn't belong.

Artemis heard it coming from the bedroom, a wooden sound that she heard every day.

A drawer was opening.

She stood, completely frozen until everything stopped. The lights went back to normal, the tv and radio went silent, and the drawer was quiet. Nelson shifted slightly at her feet and she was started back into movement, well aware that her heartbeat was thrumming under her skin.

Had the electronics been the only clue, Artemis still would have believed Wally had returned to her from beyond the grave, but there was still an open drawer that needed investigating. So she padded into the bedroom and flipped the light on, her grey eyes draw immediately to the dresser with the one open drawer.

It was Wally's sock drawer.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, her spirits already a bit higher knowing that Wally wasn't completely gone, so she couldn't resist talking to him.

"Wally if you came back just to get me to do your laundry you've got another thing coming," She huffed, a bit of a smile hinting at her lips.

The first in weeks.

When she started looking in the drawer there wasn't anything special. She had guessed that maybe he had hidden an "If I'm dead" letter that was going to break her heart further. Something ridiculously cheesy that he'd pulled from one of her favorite classical literature books.

However, when she reached farther back, her fingers discovered something velvet, and she knew what it was the moment she had her hand around it.

"Oh God," Artemis gasped, pulling her sleeve to her face in preparation for oncoming tears as she pulled out the box, "Oh God Wally," She whispered, using her thumb to pop open the flip lid.

It was beautiful, of course it was. A simple silver ring with an imbedded emerald sided by two shimmering diamonds.

She closed the box with a snap, tears still falling as she turned with a grim face to an empty apartment. Losing him had been impossible before, everything they had, everything they were going to be, it had been gnawing away at her. And here was this box, lead to her by her dead boyfriend who may or may not be a ghost. So while the culprit was intangible, the ring she had been given was not. She could hold it, and weigh it in the palm of her hand.

No, this was no hallucination. _Something_ was definitely up.

When things usually got tough, Artemis would talk to Wally about it. She supposed now was no better time than any.

"Wally," Artemis spoke softly, her tone firm, "I am not going to do your job for you. You are supposed to be putting this ring on my finger and if you aren't, it's not going on,"

There was a spark of electricity and she had to close her eyes as the lights got unnecessarily bright for a moment, and Artemis smiled because she could easily picture what his frustrated face might have looked like. She decided that she didn't care what this strange occurrence was, because it had brought Wally back to her, if only a part of him.

"Just because you went and got yourself killed doesn't mean you have less responsibilities in this relationship," Artemis scolded, folding her arms and allowing herself a smirk as the lights flickered and waned a bit, "Get your shit together West, I'm going to see Zatanna," The blonde triumphantly declared.

* * *

Artemis started feeling a bit more wary when she got near the magic shop. Once she was away from the apartment and all the strange happenings, it all seemed like a dream.

She still wasn't sure what kind of a dream it might have been though. On the one hand, she got to communicate with Wally again. On the other hand, she was essentially picking at wounds that hadn't even remotely healed yet.

Maybe that's how she was justifying it.

The wound that had been cut into her heart when Wally died hadn't even begun to heal. Surely that meant that she could poke at some more.

"I've lost it," Artemis muttered to herself, wrapping her coat a bit tighter. Suddenly the street lamps near her all began glowing brighter. She smiled into her collar and walked a little faster, "Thank you," She whispered, thankful that she wasn't making the trip alone. Or maybe she was, Artemis was still pretty unsure what to call whatever was following her. Ghost? Poltergeist? Hallucination?

She felt the ring in her pocket for assurance as she got to the door of the magic shop. It was closed for the day but she knew that Zatanna was living upstairs so she knocked anyway. The bell hanging on the other side of the glass clanged and she pulled her hand back.

"Zatanna!" She called out, hoping the girl could hear her through the glass, "It's Artemis," The blonde briefly thought that perhaps it would have been a smart idea to call ahead, but luckily it was only moments before she heard the clack of Zatanna's heels bounding down the carpeted stairs inside.

"Artemis!" Zatanna called out, dashing to the door. Artemis was surrounded by her arms not even a second later, reacting slowly to the embrace, "Come in! What are you doing here?" The magician started up, guiding the blonde toward the stairs where the heat from a roaring, and enchanted, fire was creeping downstairs into the shop.

"I need your help with something," Artemis started, "But let's sit down first,"

Zatanna nodded and Artemis noticed the way she grew a bit tense as they went into the study. Zatanna mumbled a spell that had cups of tea floating over to them and Artemis thanked her quietly as they sunk into the couch that was facing the fire.

"Artemis, before you start," Zatanna spoke carefully, "I just want to remind you that I can't-"

"I'm not asking you to bring him back," Artemis cut in, holding the warm mug close as she eyed the fire, "I know you can't do that,"

Zatanna gave a barely audible sigh and leaned into Artemis's side, relaxing. Artemis gave a small smile at her actions, she was well aware of Zatanna's limits. They had been best friends for years and the magician was often consoling lovers and family members who didn't understand that raising the dead was not a smart thing to do. She remembered Zatanna telling her that it was the worst part of the job.

"I'm all ears, Sweetie," Zatanna reminded her, catching her out of her revere. The flames of the fire had drawn her gaze as she thought, their brightness so likening to Wally's hair.

"I'm not asking you to bring him back, because Wally has already been working on it himself," Artemis started, being vague since she wasn't entirely sure where to start. Zatanna knew that ghosts were real, they had seen one together for the first time after all.

Zatanna's face grew serious in an instant, "What do you mean?"

"Things have been happening to me, around me," Artemis continued, her eyes darting away from Zatanna's and then slowly making their way back as she warily told her story, "The lights flicker everywhere I go, there's static buildup on everything I touch, objects in my apartment are _moving_. They're doing things that...that Wally used to do with them,"

The blonde stopped, wanting to hear what the magician thought before she told her any more. She tucked a hair behind her ear nervously and looked around the room as Zatanna bit her lip in thought, her eyebrows furrowed.

"It sounds, possible. I suppose," Zatanna began, "Those who..." She paused, remembering who they were talking about, "Those who die young are more likely to leave spirits behind. But Wally didn't believe in the afterlife, and that affects whether or not this can happen,"

"I understand," Artemis sighed, unconvinced, "But I have more proof," She reached into her pocket, "Tonight the apartment went haywire, the lights wouldn't stop flashing, anything electric turned on, and during that a drawer opened," She held her palm up, smiling slightly at the glinting ring as it caught the firelight, "And I found this in the drawer,"

"Oh," Zatanna whispered, picking the ring up delicately between her fingers as her eyes grew a bit damp, "_Oh_ Artemis,"

"What do you think?" The blonde asked, carefully tucking the ring away after Zatanna handed it back. The magician nodded in response.

"This is definitely something," Zatanna agreed.

"What can we do now?" Artemis asked, her heart jumping to her throat. If she could just _talk_ to him.

"We could perform a séance," Zatanna suggested, looking hopeful.

Artemis was about to agree when a loud noise erupted from downstairs. A crash of glass and mechanical laugher made them freeze.

"Was that the electronic fortune teller?" Artemis questioned skeptically, remembering suddenly of Wally's utter hatred for the laughing sultan.

"Was that your dead boyfriend?" Zatanna growled back.

The two women quickly raced back downstairs, Zatanna throwing the light switch on as they ran to the source of the noise.

"I'll kill him!" Zatanna shrieked, running to the large fortune teller, the glass from the window shattered and the entire machine on its side, the lights languidly flashing.

"He's already dead," Artemis mumbled, a bit amused at Wally's plan to grab their attention.

Suddenly the stereo system in the store kicked up, playing cheesy Halloween music at an obnoxious volume.

"Wally turn that off this instant!" Zatanna ordered, her temper rising.

The music only got louder.

"If you don't stop that I'll tell Artemis about that time I gave you sex advice!" The magician hissed back.

Both girls turned when something on the shelf nearby lit up, Zatanna immediately huffed while Artemis took a closer look, discovering that the object was a magic toy called "Bag 'O Lies".

That was enough to get a laugh out of Artemis, her cheeks turning up as she watched Zatanna yell at the card fountain that was suddenly spitting up cards all over the shop floor.

And just like that everything stopped, the noise, the cards. Everything except for a red glow coming from the back of the shop. Zatanna saw the glow and smiled, turning back to her friend who was quelling the laughter still bubbling in the back of her throat.

"What's that?" Artemis asked curiously. Zatanna gestured for the blonde to follow her to the back of the shop. When she reached the back wall her jaw dropped open. It was evidently the romance section. There were hearts, roses, and all sorts of other flowers as well.

And they were all glowing, each and every flower and toy that could light up was shining as bright as a star.

"He did all of that, just to make you laugh," Zatanna explained, her voice filled with exasperation despite the way her features made her look impressed.

Artemis smiled, her heart melting as she got closer to one of the bouquets, picking it up carefully. The roses immediately grew brighter than all the others, "Thanks Babe," She whispered, cradling her only link to Wally closely.

The blonde didn't notice Zatanna walking up behind her until the movement of her hands caught her eye, turning to see her friend concentrating on the wall of light up flowers. Zatanna hovered her hands over a few of them, her digits surrounded by a transparent blue glow. Artemis waited patiently as the magician worked, instead focusing on the bouquet that was still glimmering in her grasp. Her only connection.

It had been almost a month since Wally had passed. A month without her wonderful redhead. And if it couldn't have been worse, she had only had a day with him after being undercover.

She had made it out of her undercover mission relatively unscathed. Coming home to Wally had been akin to taking a breath of fresh air. That's what being around Wally always felt like. He was fresh air, keeping her head clear and her view unobscured. Living without him was choking her. Hot, musky air that blocked her airways and made it hard to breathe.

How was she supposed to live like this?

"Artemis," Zatanna whispered, drawing her eyes away from the flowers. Her heart fell at the tone she was using, it was nervous and uncertain. The magician's hand landed on her shoulder and turned her away from the wall of flowers. Artemis hesitated, as though if she looked away Wally might slip through her grasp once again, "Artemis," Zatanna began again.

"Hm?" She answered, her thin fingers gripping the stems of the fake roses tighter than necessary.

"This is no ghost," Zatanna told her, her brows furrowed in confusion, "I scanned the energy around you, it's not supernatural,"

"No," Artemis whispered tightly, her throat constricting, "No, it's Wally! I know it is Zee!"

"I never said it wasn't!" Zatanna responded quickly, the hand on the blonde's shoulder holding tighter, "But whatever's happening, it's no apparition. The energy is some sort of supercharged electrical field, and it's connected to you,"

"And it's Wally," Artemis added, her voice turning a bit breathy, "Does that mean that he..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words. The moment she let that niggling of hope into her heart was the moment she set herself up for endless heartbreak. What was the actual likelihood that he had survived the energy from an alien tech bomb?

And then her own words came back to her.

"It's _Wally_," Artemis spoke up louder, ignoring the confusion spreading across Zatanna's face, "If anyone could find a way to survive, it would be him," A smile started in the corners of her mouth, "That man is so stubborn, won't even let death keep us apart,"

"Artemis I don't think he ever died," Zatanna said, her words morphing with doubt even as they left her mouth, "I think something else happened,"

And then the roses lit up again, having faded while the women talked, the lights spreading from the bouquet in Artemis's hand in a wave, turning on all the electronics in the store, flashing colors, whirling machines and tricks all coming to life. Artemis let out laugh, her smile broad as she felt her eyes grow wet.

"I think Wally agrees," She said, pressing a delicate kiss to one of the flowers in her hold, the petal's light jumping excitedly beneath her lips.

"I think we need to talk to Dick," Zatanna stated, her eyes narrowing.

* * *

**Part two (the last part) will be up within a few days. **

**I love you all. **

**_Veg_**


	2. Lights On

**Thank you everyone for all the wonderful reviews! Here is the last part!**

* * *

Zatanna lead the way to the zeta tube, her arm wrapped snuggly around Artemis's own as her other held her phone to her ear.

"I don't care if you're busy. You're letting us in and we're going to talk. I know that you've been hiding something and now I think I know what" She spoke confidently.

Artemis listened with only half an ear, choosing instead to let her mind wonder about the possibilities that were opening up.

Wally might be alive.

Her mind was torn. On one side, she wanted desperately for it to be true, to have Wally back. On the other, giving in to such hope could wreck her if they were wrong. She would take it though; she would take any pain if it brought her speedster back.

"Wally," She whispered quietly, turning her head away from Zatanna. The streetlamp that they were passing flickered a few times and the blonde smiled.

"Yeah, _we_. Artemis is with me," Zatanna continued.

Artemis relaxed as the lights that they passed continued to flicker pleasantly, basking in the knowledge that her boyfriend was with her even while they couldn't be together.

"We'll be there in five minutes," Was her final statement before hanging up her phone and turning her head to her friend, "Ready to head to the Birdcave?" She smirked.

"You know he hates that name," Artemis retorted as they reached the Zeta tube.

"Only because the warehouse doesn't look cool enough to have it," Zatanna told her with a smile before using her manicured finger to punch in the number for Nightwing's home base.

Artemis looked back to the street before the zeta beam took her away, the one streetlamp in view flickering slowly as if waving goodbye.

* * *

When Artemis and Zatanna walked into the warehouse Nightwing turned around from his seat in front of the computer system, preparing to stand up and meet them.

"Don't get up," Zatanna started, waving him off as they came over to him.

"Hello to you too," Dick answered, one of his eyebrows rising. Artemis could hear the way his voice was teetering between tones, a cheery cover over a hidden nervousness.

"I knew that you were sneaking around more often for a reason. I thought you were collecting evidence on Luthor, or maybe Godfrey, but _this_? Why would you hide this from us?" Zatanna's voice grew angry, "How could you hide this from Artemis?" She spoke, her voice raw as she gestured to the blonde who was standing a bit away.

"Whoa!" Dick gasped, standing up abruptly with his hands spread out to create a barrier, "Can we back up please? What is this about?"

"Wally," Artemis answered, "Wally isn't dead. He got _changed_ or something," She frowned, wringing her hands together as she thought further about.

Where was he?

Was he in pain?

Would he last long enough for them to get him back?

What if they couldn't save him?

What if he was stuck this way forever?

"-temis," Zatanna's voice caught her ear and Artemis's head snapped up to her friends before her.

"Sorry," She mumbled, crossing her arms in embarrassment and internally scoffing at how unstable she had become. The two gave her pitying looks and she grimaced, successfully halting them.

"You know something," Zatanna turned back to Dick, "Now, spill,"

Dick sighed, shoulders slumping under the magician's stern glare, and gestured for the girls to take seats up next to him at the computer. Zatanna did so with a graceful flourish, her stern look still in place. Artemis sat down much less so, curling into the armrests as though they would hold her as tightly as Wally used to.

"It started with the usual denial that comes with someone's death," Dick started up, "But then I decided to start thinking like Wally, like a scientist," He smiled slightly, "And I realized that, alien tech or not, the laws of physics still had to apply. Wally vanished. Matter can't do that,"

"The law of conservation," Artemis cut in, "Wally was always talking about it, comparing it to our love," She smiled and looked to the floor as she spoke, more-so recalling a memory to herself than informing the other heroes, "It can change and shift, but never destroyed,"

There was a pause before Dick picked up where she left of, the blonde still withering in and out of revere and sadness. He cleared his throat before he spoke, "That's exactly the problem. He just disappeared, it's scientifically impossible,"

"So what do you think happened?" Zatanna asked, her voice on baited breath.

"When the speedsters run, they stop becoming human forms. They have mass, but their speed is so fast that they essentially become a form of concentrated energy. And energy can do one of two things, it can change location and it can change form," He held up his hand, counting of the two possibilities on his fingers.

"He changed his form?" Artemis breathed; it was a rhetorical question however. The moment she heard it, she'd known.

"I think so," Dick agreed with a nod, "While running, Wally became moving friction. Essentially, a form of energy. And the charge coming from the bomb was using him as an exit. That much energy running through him shifted his molecules, transforming him into a different form of energy,"

"A form that couldn't slow down and become a solid human again," Artemis added.

"So...then the question becomes; how do we change him back?" Zatanna asked, rather lost at the concept of applied technical science.

"A conversion," Artemis stepped in, "Wally was changed by the friction and charge of that bomb. We just need to reverse it," She shrugged.

"Barry and Bart can recreate the friction, but what do you plan to use for the charge? We can't use another bomb, and frankly even if we did I don't think we'd get a different reaction," Dick frowned, trying to follow Artemis's train of thought. Zatanna sat quietly, not sure how to contribute any longer.

"Black Lightning and Static," Artemis answered confidently, "And then put _me_ in the middle of the circle,"

"What!?" Zatanna shrieked, "There won't be any _air_ in the middle of a speedster tornado, you know that!"

"I don't understand," Dick pressed on calmly, his elbows resting on his knees, "How are you going to act as the charge?" Zatanna sent the man a death glare for not taking her side.

"Wally is connected to me, put me in the middle and you'll be putting him in the middle. The friction created in the opposite direction by Barry and Bart will draw him back, and the energy needed for the conversion can be added by Lightning and Static," Artemis told them, her features more lively than either of them had seen in an entire month.

Zatanna looked to Dick for a response, not knowing if Artemis was right. Dick was slouched over with his hands clasped, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Well?" Artemis asked, "Don't you agree?"

"No, he doesn't," Zatanna cut in, "We aren't putting you in the middle of a tornado," She responded astutely.

"No Zee, I think it just might work," Dick breathed in heavily, a smile hinting at his lips, "Let me make some calls. Get your coats," He finally grinned, "We're going back to the arctic,"

* * *

It was no less than two hours since Artemis and Dick had worked out the plans for their experiment, and the blonde was itching to get started. She had an oxygen tank strapped to her back thanks to Zatanna and the cold of the fiberglass was biting into a slip of skin that was exposed at her hip. She was focusing on the harsh bite as the other heroes talked around, uncertainty heavy in the freezing air.

Dick had only called who was necessary, not wanting to raise everyone's hopes for an experiment that might only be a failure. Barry and Bart had arrived on foot, both optimistic at the prospect of getting Wally back. Bart already convinced that the project was going to work, while Barry agreed with Artemis's theoretical conversion science.

M'gann had brought Black Lightning and Static on the bioship, however Dick was surprised when Conner and Kaldur stepped of the ship with them. Artemis wasn't, she knew the moment M'gann had gotten involved that she would bring the rest of the original team. They met her with assuring smiles and she felt warmed at the undying faith they had in her.

Dick took over the group to explain who was to do what since he was good at it. Artemis didn't mind one bit, choosing instead to turn and watch the white tundra. She felt her nerves steel as Dick gave his speech on realistic expectations and experimentation. Artemis knew that what she was doing was absurd. She was, after all, going to be placing herself in the middle of an electrical maelstrom. But if it brought Wally back, she would risk anything.

"Wally is going to kill me," Artemis muttered under her breath, scratching uncomfortably at the straps of the oxygen tank.

"Alright, everyone to their places," Dick announced, gesturing to the large crater nearby. The original site of the Reach's bomb.

M'gann gave her a hug before she started off toward the middle, also allowing time for Zatanna to drop a light kiss on her cheek. For strength and good luck, they had explained.

Artemis knew better, but she also didn't care.

She took her place in the middle, Barry and Bart ready to start running almost fifty feet from where she was standing. Black Lightning and Static were stationed on opposite sides of the circle from each other even further out, ready to add the electricity Wally would need for the conversion. The blonde strapped the oxygen mask to her face and turned the valve to start it, sending a thumbs up once the gas was flowing to her lips.

And just like that, the wind started. A red and yellow blur surrounded her and the wind whipped her hair around her face. Artemis held the oxygen mask tight against her face as the two picked up speed even further.

She was surprised at what it felt like. To be in the middle of a tornado. She expected it to be cold, freezing actually. But there was an absence of temperature.

Artemis felt neither hot nor cold. But without oxygen, there was nothing to feel.

Nothing to feel.

She smiled behind her mask, finding irony in the thought. While her skin was comfortable, her mind and body were at war. Nervousness clawing at her stomach and fear smoldering in her head.

Then she became weightless.

Her feet slowly left the ground, body rising as the maelstrom pulled her up; as though she wasn't over a hundred pounds. She tried to see the others, to see Barry or Bart, or M'gann and Zatanna, but the wind was tearing at her eyes. When she could manage a glance, everything was cloudy, one large mass of air moving as one around her.

She wondered if she was spinning.

The lightning started and for a moment Artemis thought that perhaps she had died. The electricity was so _bright_ and its energy warmed the air. The air crackled around her and collected in the hairs on her arms, making them stand up.

Was this what it was like to run as fast as sound? She certainly couldn't hear anything.

Artemis figured that she probably should have felt nervous as the cracks of lightning passed around her, caressing her skin and whipping around her fingertips. But she had disposed of all metal on her body and the electricity seemed to be fond of her, rather than the wickedness it often seemed to portray.

"-_mis!" _

_Oh god. _

The blonde wrenched her eyes open as best she could, finding herself surrounded by a familiar yellow spark. It was wild. Bouncing off of the wind and snatching up the synthetic lightning created by her fellow heroes. She could feel him, his presence, his warmth.

"Wally!?" Artemis called out against the wind, unable to hear even her own voice against the crackle of electricity. She had to keep her eyes closed so she pictured him instead.

His vibrant green eyes, always so alight with curiosity and excitement. How they softened when he was tired, half lidded emeralds that searched her out even when he was half asleep. How they grew deep and dark as they made love, pupils blown wide.

She remembered his hair. His gorgeous, wild hair. The same color as the evening sun. She remembered how he loved it when she ran her fingers through it, pressing back that cowlick behind his left ear and tugging on the soft tufts at the back of his neck .How scruffy it became when he waited too long for a haircut and how he would purposefully leave it soaking wet after a shower, pinning her on the bed and raining her as she laughed.

His freckles, she pictured those too. The adorable spots that dotted his cheeks when he was younger, when they had first been a couple. Stumbling around each other's limbs in the dark of a living room as the credits of a movie played. She'd discovered that he had them across more than just his cheeks. The beautiful spray painted all across his shoulders and pectorals. _Oh_, how she'd blushed.

Artemis still had his voice in saved messages on her phone. A playful, light sound that had grown less raspy and more deep as they'd grown up together. She'd heard that voices were the first memory to leave, so she had spent each night in bed with her phone beside her, playing his silly voicemails of classical literature excerpts on speaker as she fell to sleep. The crinkle from the speaker disrupted it, but it was the best she had so she made due.

She missed his warmth the most, if she had to choose. The way a room felt so alive when he was there. His skin was always buzzing with heat, an underlying energy that exhilarated her and inspired her to press closer. It was as if he was just so full of life that it was bursting at the seams, spilling out and spreading to anyone nearby. He radiated warmth, passion, life. And without him Artemis just felt empty.

But the heat around her was growing.

The sparks of the electricity had continued flashing around behind her eyelids, and the sense that she was no longer alone filled her soul.

"Wally!?" She called out again, feeling as though her heart might burst from her chest. She just needed him back _so badly_. And he felt _so close_.

"_Ar-mis!_" His voice was disjointed, as though from behind a faulty speaker. But it was enough to keep her going.

"Wally!" Artemis screamed, her throat growing raw from the force of her voice. She opened her eyes once more, squinting against the wind.

_Wally was there. _

Flickering in and out of sight just in front of her, just as he looked before he'd first disappeared. His face was a mixture of fear and joy when it was there, his eyes weary and his hand outstretched toward her.

He kept flashing. There, not there. Artemis found it entirely annoying. She wanted her boyfriend back. She was _not_ going to lose him again.

Artemis reached her arms out, fighting the force of the wind that wished to keep her where it liked, _"Wally!_ Take my hands!" She yelled, not caring at the desperate tone her voice had taken.

He reached back for her, but her hands passed right through is. She nearly began sobbing on the spot, rage building at the frustration charging her soul. Wally looked devastated, and she couldn't hear it but she saw his mouth open in a cry of anguish.

"I am _not_ losing you!" Artemis cried out, gritting her teeth against the sparks of yellow electricity that zapped her skin as she reached further, clawing to grab him, any part of him that she could reach. First his arms again, then his biceps, his shoulders.

And when she grasped for his face, she connected, her lithe fingers wrapping around the curve of his jaw and outlining the edges of his Kid Flash mask. Her eyes locked onto his and they smiled together. It was too loud for words to reach each other, but it wasn't necessary.

Artemis refused to let go, watching in awe as flashing turned into a dull flickering, his body becoming more solid and his features clearer. Wally placed his hand atop of hers as it rested on his face, following the lines of her arms to reach her shoulders, her hips, and pulling her closer, a wide grin of utter happiness on his face as their foreheads knocked together without any breaks in his appearance. Artemis felt her eyes grow wet even as the wind pulled her tears away.

He was back.

"_Wally_," She choked out, rubbing a thumb across his cheekbone affectionately.

"_Artemis_," Wally breathed, closing his eyes and leaning in, using one hand to pull the oxygen mask down to rest at her neck before angling himself for a kiss. The blonde met him halfway, her lips were raw from the wind but he didn't seem to mind.

The white noise of the maelstrom dwindled down and Wally gripped Artemis's waist tightly as the pull of their weight drew them back to the ground. They both dropped to their knees when they hit the ground, careless of the hard packed snow beneath them. Artemis collapsed into his grasp, her fingers digging into his costume and her tears soaking into his shoulder as he curled himself around her.

It was only seconds before the two were surrounded, everyone talking at Wally, cheering, and some crying. Wally pressed a few chaste kisses to the top of Artemis's head before looking up at everyone around him.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late,"

* * *

Artemis was exhausted.

She and Wally had been spending the last few days jumping from Palo Alto, Central City, Gotham, and the Watchtower in a never ending cycle to assure everyone that Wally was actually alive and well. Wally had laughed when she'd complained and mentioned that _in fact_ she was not required to go with him to all of the celebrations and teary visits. Her response was a light punch to his arm, which got another laugh out of him.

God, how she'd missed him.

It was the fourth day after Wally's return when the two finally got a decent amount of time to themselves without sporadic visits and calls from friends and relatives. A large part of it became devoted to intimately reacquainting themselves with each other; the rest of the time they cuddled and talked.

Nelson padded around the apartment happily, finally satisfied that both of his parents were back home. The two lovers had decided to take the whole week off from school, work, and heroing in order to settle back into their home together. Mending the fear that had settled into their hearts and made it difficult to be apart.

Artemis still felt the panic sometimes, a wound still festering in the pit of her mind that came to the surface when Wally grew too quiet. Most of the time it came to her at night. She had spent the last month sleeping alone in fits of nightmares and dreams that she woke up to with tears already falling from her eyes. Her pillow perpetually soaked.

It had occurred again the fourth night. Artemis had dreamed of the night Wally disappeared, of the cold in the arctic wind and the way her tears had frozen under her chin. She dreamed that he'd cried out as he disappeared, an anguishing noise that ripped through her ears and sunk deep into her heart. And she dreamed that he had been running towards her, red gloved hands outstretched as she grabbed for him as well. But neither could reach and he was lost, lost into the white and the wind and Artemis was left with not even a body to cradle.

She awoke not with a start but with a fall, her chest sinking in and her limbs curling in on herself for protection. Artemis held a hand over her mouth as her mind caught up with her dream, not yet remembering that Wally had been saved.

The redhead himself had been grabbing a snack in the kitchen, finding that after turning into electric energy he had not only become _much_ faster, but also _much_ more hungry. He and Barry hadn't tested it yet, but Wally could tell his own speed and he knew for sure that something incredible had occurred. He decided not to think about it as he munched on a rather unconventional sandwich, _he_ didn't see a problem with throwing ham and jelly together on some bread but Artemis always rolled her eyes at it.

Wally was halfway through his concoction when he heard her, first only a whimper that he couldn't place, and then a smothered cry. The sandwich fell onto the kitchen table with a splat as he zipped back into the bedroom, his knees sliding across the sheets as he curled around the blonde who had huddled into her pillow. His heart clenched as he tried to wake her, tearing into two at the fact that his was not the first time she'd had a nightmare.

"Babe," He spoke softly, running one of his hands through her hair as he other searched out and held the closest hand he could find, "Babe, please, _wake up_," Wally pleaded, dropping his forehead into her shoulder. He hated watching this, watching the muscles twitch under her skin and knowing it was caused by a horrible dream. Her eyelids were scrunched tight and she mumbled his name with a half-sob.

"No, _Wally_," Artemis cried. Nelson scrambled into the room abruptly, having woken up to the cries of his mother. The dog hiked his paws up on the edge of the bed, whimpering and attempting to stick his nose into the tangle of limbs that had become of Wally's attempts to soothe his girlfriend.

"Artemis," Wally tried again, tugging her face free from the pillow and kissing her cheek repeatedly, "Artemis you need to wake up, Beautiful,"

His touch finally seemed to be working and he smiled tiredly as Artemis's unfocused grey eyes fluttered open, her lashes dark from tears. She turned into his hold as Nelson jumped onto the bed, snuggling next to her legs while she clutched onto Wally like a lifeline.

"It's alright Babe, everything's alright," He whispered, petting down her hair and laying back, pulling her across his chest.

"No," Artemis whispers back hoarsely, taking her head off of his chest to look him in the eyes, "No it's not. What if you disappear again?" She asked, her fingernails digging lightly into his biceps as his arms curled around her middle.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise," Wally answered back, remembering the other times the blonde had panicked from her fear. Two days before he had gone to the store while she had been napping, he'd returned an hour later and Artemis had been a mess, convinced that he'd changed again and entirely missing the handwritten note he'd left on the table.

Artemis didn't respond, instead curling around the redhead tighter and dipping her head into the crook of his neck. Nelson was still snuggling against her calves.

"Hey, Babe," Wally started, rubbing her back gently and coaxing her out of the cocoon she'd created around him, "C'mon Babe, look at me," He laughed lightly. Artemis relented with a weary sigh, her emotions having been worn raw over the past month.

"Hm?" She asked, drawing her fingers along his cheek, memorizing his face in case it had even minutely changed since the last time she had done so (that morning).

"You still got that ring?" He questioned, a smirk falling to place on his lips. Artemis gasped, unintentionally blinking her eyes a few times before nodding.

The two lovers clambered carefully out of the bed, being sure not to knock Nelson around as they did so. Artemis led Wally to her half of the dresser, reaching for her small jewelry box that held only a few delicate pieces of ornaments that had been given to her as gifts. Wally wrapped his arms around her as she pulled the ring out, holding it delicately as she moved to turn around in his grasp.

"I should have seen this coming," Artemis whispered, her and Wally's noses almost brushing as he leaned into her.

"Well I should have done it a long time ago," He told her, taking the ring out of her hand and pulling back. The light from the kitchen was trickling into the bedroom through the door and Artemis tried to take it all in as he drew down to one knee, his hair was standing up from sleep and his only clothes (boxers) were rumpled and hanging low on his hips. She thought Wally had never looked more handsome "Artemis Lian Crock," Wally started, taking the woman's hand when she held it out if only to keep in contact, "I love you so much. You keep me grounded and you never let me get away with anything. I'd be the luckiest man in the world if you be my wife, so Artemis...Will you marry me?"

"Wallace Rudolph West," Artemis responded, dropping to her knees as well and wrapping her arms around the redhead's shoulders, "You really should have done this sooner," She smiled, pulling herself close and locking her lips against his. Wally responded instantly, tightening his grip as he responded into the kiss with a smile that she felt on her cheeks as the edges of his lips turned up. He pulled back in order to let loose a full-on grin and Artemis couldn't help but match it, letting out a small laugh of joy as he slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her hand for good measure.

"I'm going to marry you," Wally stated, his eyes crinkling from the force of his smile, "We're going to get _married_,"

Artemis nodded, dropping her head down on his shoulder momentarily as she let out another laugh, her grin wide enough to hurt her cheeks, "We're going to get married," She reiterated.

"I'll never leave you again, I never wanted to leave in the first place," Wally spoke quickly in his rush to get the words out, his eyes flashing with the emotion of his tone.

"I know," Artemis said quietly, pressing a light kiss to his cheek in response, "I know. I'll never leave you either,"

And for the first time in a month, Artemis felt at ease. They would still have battles in the future to fight, after all , the world always needed saved. But they would do it together, taking on each challenge as one and never leaving the other behind.

After all, they were the two even death couldn't keep apart.

* * *

**Please leave a review to let me know if this has made you all feel better, as that was the purpose of this. (Well, that and to soothe my own soul). **

**I love you all, please don't give up on the idea that Wally will return.**

**_Love_,_ Veg_**


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